Take a tour of Legends of Runeterra's far-flung regions

It's important to get acquainted with each of the Legends of Runeterra regions, and how their sets complement one another before hurrying off to craft a deck. Legends of Runeterra spans six regions—which LoL fans will recognise—but getting to grips with each district's playstyle is a skill that will make you an expert deck builder. Every area has unique strengths and weaknesses that determine how the regional set operates, so there's plenty to learn.

Creating a Legends of Runeterra deck limits you to two regions, leaving plenty of room for creativity. I'm here to help you get to know each region, and how their powerful sets can be combined to forge formidable decks. Let's discover which champions live in each area, and head off for our access-all-areas tour of the game's diverse landscapes.

Demacia

Champions: Fiora, Garen, Lux and Lucian 

Still scarred by its militaristic past, Demacia is proud of its inhabitants and strives to protect them at all costs. Primarily occupied with sturdy units, nurture your Demacian forces properly to build a fearsome board presence. 

Plentiful Barriers negate damage for the duration of a round, while the Tough keyword reduces incoming damage by 1. Demacia’s spells narrow its fixation on its units, so direct damage and single-card board removal are greatly missed in this set. This Legends of Runeterra region is all about using your physical assets to eliminate threats. 

Freljord

Champions: Anivia, Ashe, Braum and Tryndamere

Feel the temperature dropping? Cards from the Freljord set give opponents an icy reception. Frostbite sets a unit’s power to 0 for the duration of the round to delay incoming damage. Both spells and units capitalise on this keyword to retain a tight grasp on the board. 

The Freljord region creates ample opportunities for delaying damage as you work to remove enemy units. Employ a few bulky units to dominate the board and they’ll see you through with destructive results; less certainly is more. This set has the potential to enable powerful control decks, while being the only region to generate additional mana gems. 

Ionia

Champions: Karma, Shen, Yasuo and Zed

In keeping with Ionia's restless tides, its regional set offers the opportunity for highly versatile decks. Bypass damage with Recall to return units to your hand and heal those strong enough to survive a round. Ionia’s selection of Ephemeral residents will die in the event they deal combat damage, or when the round finishes. Tactical Stuns will keep your board safe, as targeted units won’t be afforded the luxury of attacking or blocking that round. 

This set also contains Elusive individuals who can only be blocked by other Elusive units, which makes them sticky threats. Combine this with Enlightened, a condition that requires you to have reached the 10 mana gems max to perform a permanently upgraded action for consistent progression across rounds. The selection of cards in this Legends of Runeterra region accommodate multiple playstyles, but at the expense of being challenging to master, overall. 

Noxus

Champions: Darius, Draven, Katarina and Vladimir

Noxus' lands exude merciless aggression: its regional set holds the muscle of Legends of Runeterra’s aggro decks. Its units pack a punch, but it's unlikely they’ll withstand many rounds on the board. 

Fast spells can be played whenever you want, but allow your opponent the chance to respond— but you were always going to pick up a few battle scars on the way to victory. Overwhelm cards ensure no damage is wasted, as excess damage dealt to a blocker is directed straight to the enemy Nexus. Noxus cards promise consistent damage to help you score some early wins. 

Piltover & Zaun

Champions: Ezreal, Heimerdinger, Jinx and Teemo

Fancy yourself as a sorcerer? With Piltover’s city flourishing at the surface and Zaun churning away industriously below, their card selection offers a pleasing symmetry of offense and defense. Many of its unit cards have dual effects, such as the ability to draw a card and buff another for that round. Some also benefit from you casting spells. 

This Legends of Runeterra region houses an abundance of powerful combos with the most notable married to Poison Puffcaps. However, there are plenty of other deck types to construct. Check out the interesting synergies between Fleeting cards—which are automatically discarded from your hand when the round ends—and continue to draw cards to keep up. Playing cards that transform into units you already have on the board will keep your gameplan on track. 

Shadow Isles

Champions: Elise, Hecarim, Kalista and Thresh

The Shadow Isles are fragmented lands that are a hollow echo of what once was. This region offers up sacrifices in exchange for powerful effects and lifesteal abilities. 

Orchestrating allies to die can be beneficial, as death doesn’t necessarily mean the end. Last Breath abilities activate when a unit dies, and with full board clears at your disposal, you decide when to use them effectively. This is bolstered by Ephemeral units—which account for a considerable portion of this region—as well as spells that link to the keyword. 

Lifesteal and Drain prosper from damage dealt to heal the Nexus. Finally, Fearsome units—that can only be blocked by enemies with 3 or more Power (their damage value)— enhance decks that need a boost of aggression.